The flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic

MOSCOW, May 22 /TASS/. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) hopes that Kiev will cancel amendments to the law on Donbas special status after the Contact Group for Ukraine settlement met in Minsk, Maxim Leshchenko, the DPR leader’s administration chief, said on Friday.

A working subgroup for political issues set up by the Contact Group for the Ukraine settlement ended its meeting at President Hotel in Minsk earlier on Friday, a source close to negotiations told the LuganskInform Tsentr news agency.

Pierre Maurel from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); Maxim Polyakov from Russia and Vladimir Gorbulin from Ukraine as well as two representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics are taking part in the meeting, which started at about 15:30 Moscow time on Friday.

Representatives of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics submitted their stance on local elections and amendments which should be made to Ukraine’s election law to ensure the vote to the subgroup for political issues of the Contact Group for Ukraine settlement that has ended its meeting in Minsk, a source close to negotiations told the LuganskInform Tsentr news agency. "The republics voiced their proposals and negotiating stances on the election draft and on amendments to Ukraine’s laws, which make the local elections impossible," the source clarified.

The Contact Group set up four thematic working groups on May 6 to intensify the peace process and implement some aspects of the Minsk agreements.

Negotiations in subgroups for security and for economic and humanitarian issues took place on May 14 and 19, respectively.